Phuket’s daily world news round-up – Saturday 19th January 2013

THAILANDbangkokpost.com – Candidates woo flood expert
Bangkok governor election candidates are approaching Seree Supratid, a water and flood management expert who made his name during the 2011 flood crisis, to be among their deputies.

nationmultimedia.com – All Thais working in Algeria safe: govt
No Thai nationals were among the foreign workers being held hostage in Algeria by militants linked to the al-Qaeda Islamist group, senior government officials said yesterday.

bangkokpost.com – ‘Shut up and help’
The supreme commander criticises the international community for not doing enough to reach out to Rohingya migrants and Thailand’s forced to shoulder the burden.

mcot.net – PM asserts there’s no plan for centre to care for Rohingya in Thailand
PM asserts there’s no plan for centre to care for Rohingya in Thailand, it could not solve problem but government no intention to push them back to Myanmar.

nationmultimedia.com – Pheu Thai quashes rumours of rift
The Pheu Thai Party has quelled rumours about infighting by holding a much-publicised meeting between its gubernatorial candidate Pongsapat Pongcharoen and veteran politician Sudarat Keyuraphan.

mcot.net – Central bank told to maintain stability of Thai currency
The Thai private sector has expressed concern on the rapid appreciation of Thai currency and hoped the unfavourable phenomenon is short-lived, a leading industrialist said today.

bangkokpost.com – Pirates in the crosshairs
The government plans to cut Thailand’s software piracy level to 68% in 2013 in a bid to persuade the US to remove the country from its Priority Watch List.

ASIAnews.com.au – Three die in S Korean fishing boat fire
Three people have been killed and five are missing in a fire on a South Korean fishing boat fire, the Japanese coastguard says.

bangkokpost.com – Suu Kyi defends ‘crony’ cash
Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Friday defended her party’s controversial decision to accept donations from businessmen close to the former military junta for its education fund.

bbc.co.uk – Burma ‘ends attacks in Kachin’
The Burmese government ends a military offensive against rebels in the northern Kachin state.

news.com.au – Record high radiation level found in fish
A fish contaminated with radiation levels more than 2500 times the legal limit has been caught near Japan’s tsunami-crippled nuclear plant.

bangkokpost.com – China agrees to NKorea sanctions
The United States and China have made a deal under which the UN Security Council will expand existing sanctions against North Korea for staging a ballistic missile test, envoys said Friday.

bbc.co.uk – Sydney bakes on hottest day on record as bushfires rage
The Australian city of Sydney is experiencing its hottest day on record, with temperatures reaching nearly 46C.

UKbbc.co.uk – ’10 Britons’ in Algeria standoff
About 10 Britons are thought to remain at risk in the hostage situation at the gas plant in Algeria, the BBC understands.

bbc.co.uk – Heavy snow brings travel disruption
Travel disruption caused by heavy snow is set to continue, as many parts of the UK see train delays, cancelled flights and testing driving conditions.

bbc.co.uk – Cameron: UK could drift out of EU
The UK could “drift towards” exiting the EU if problems with the institution are not addressed, David Cameron is set to warn.

AFRICAbbc.co.uk – Mali Islamists ‘flee two towns’
Islamist fighters have withdrawn from two towns in central Mali after French air strikes, local officials say.

EUROPEbbc.co.uk – Cleaner cleared of Sweden rail crash
A cleaning woman accused of stealing an empty commuter train in a suburb of Stockholm was not to blame for the crash, Swedish prosecutors say.

bbc.co.uk – Turkey raids target banned Marxist group DHKP-C
Dozens of people, including 15 lawyers, with suspected links to a banned Marxist group have been arrested in raids by police across Turkey.

LATIN AMERICAbbc.o.uk – Fake TV crew jailed for 30 years
A court in Nicaragua gives maximum jail sentences to 18 people caught crossing the border with $9.2m while posing as journalists from Mexican TV.

news.com.au – Eight dead in small plane crash in Mexico
Eight people, including three children, have been killed in a small plane crash in southern Mexico.

bbc.co.uk – Colombia ELN kidnaps mine workers
ELN rebels in northern Colombia have kidnapped five workers from a mining company, three of them foreigners, the army says.

MID-EASTbbc.co.uk – Colombia ELN kidnaps mine workers
ELN rebels in northern Colombia have kidnapped five workers from a mining company, three of them foreigners, the army says.

news.com.au – UN pushes for war crimes probe in Syria
A senior UN official has called for a war crimes investigation in Syria.

bbc.co.uk – Israeli PM in settlements pledge
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu says no Jewish settlements in the West Bank will be removed during his next term in office if he wins elections on Tuesday.

USbangkokpost.com – Boeing halts 787 deliveries
US aerospace giant Boeing said late Friday it had suspended deliveries of its new 787 Dreamliner jet until a battery problem is resolved, but continues to build the plane.

bbc.co.uk – Congress to hold debt limit vote
US House Republicans pledge to vote on a bill to raise the country’s borrowing limit, a move that could avoid a battle with the White House.

news.com.au – US ER visits tied to energy drinks double
A US survey suggests the number of people seeking emergency treatment after consuming energy drinks has doubled during the past four years.

bangkokpost.com – Armstrong ‘PR stunt’ slammed
The president of the World Anti-Doping Agency has branded Lance Armstrong’s doping confession a “controlled public relations” stunt that revealed nothing new.

bbc.co.uk – Armstrong questions punishment
Lance Armstrong questions whether he deserves his “death penalty” punishment which has seen him banned from all sports.